‘No!’
The vehemence of her response surprised all three of them. She might be a selfish, thoughtless, excuse of a mother who’d pushed her husband and children into doing all sorts of things they’d never wanted to do, but she was not going to do this charity ride on the bus. She’d tapped far too many pilots’ wives for money to only partially complete the trip. That … and she felt she owed it to Stu and the children. A penance for all she’d put them through. She’d crawl if she had to, which, considering how difficult it was going to be to stand up from the picnic table again, might very well be a possibility.
‘I might just be a bit slower than usual is all. But I will do this. I will ride all of the miles. Roman or otherwise.’
Sue began nodding and saying alright, alright, so what would we advise someone if they were to ring in with sore knees.
‘RICE.’ All three of them said in tandem. And then, with the efficiency of a trauma team, Sue and Raven went to work getting ice packs, cool gels, Fola and, to her surprise, Kath.
‘Alright there, Flo?’
Such a simple question. And yet … it felt like a game changer.
Flo had a choice to make. Lie through her teeth to keep up appearances as any self-respecting British woman of a certain age might, or be honest.
Everyone was looking at her. Raven, Sue and Fola who really did have magic hands. The man should be copyrighted. Or cloned. If she were home she could imagine Stu insisting upon seeing to Flo’s knees. She closed her eyes and pictured the chair he would park her in, the sounds as he meticulously went through the medicine cupboard (Stu liked to be prepared) and the steady, assured way he would knead away her aches and pains.
As the heat from Fola’s hands transferred deep into her knees, she began to understand what Stu and her children meant to her. They were her foundation. They made her strong. They were the reason she’d spent the past thirty-plus years showing off just how fabulous she could be. Desperate to prove she was interesting, fun and the life of the party. Desperate to prove Stu had made the right choice and that her children had the most interesting parents. What a fool she’d been. They’d wanted someone to love them. Someone who would love them back with the same fierce loyalty they’d shown her.
Her throat went scratchy. She was going to have to earn it back. Their love. Their respect. She’d certainly lost Jennifer’s. Jamie? Hard to say, but the poor boy had gone from her domineering household straight into the arms of another bossy, controlling woman, so … And Stu? God above, she hoped Stu still loved her. Respected her. ‘You know, Kath,’ she finally said, her voice sounding smaller than she had ever believed it could. ‘This is much, much harder than I thought it would be. What a silly moo I’ve been. Thinking I could just hop on my bicycle and ride across the country. And at my age!’
Fola made a tsk tsk sound with his tongue, then slipped away saying something about finding compression bandages.
Flo reached out her hands to Raven and Sue, both of whom were soaked through, stiffly shifting from foot to foot and, in Sue’s case, really quite muddy. ‘I’m so sorry I dragged you into this. We should’ve just had a cake sale. Sue, you make such lovely cakes. Have I told you that? How very much I love your cakes?’
Sue clasped Flo’s hand in both of hers. ‘You didn’t drag anyone! And you’re not old. You’re …’ Sue floundered for a moment because the truth was, yes, she was old unless you were counting the queen. ‘You’re an inspiration. You encouraged us. Me anyway. And Raven.’ She gave Raven’s arm a squeeze and Raven, who Flo had noticed wasn’t really a toucher, pulled little Sue under her arm and gave her a quick hug. Sue squatted down (with some difficulty) and looked Flo straight in the eye. ‘I never in a million years would’ve thought to come on a ride like this.’ She grinned up at Kath. ‘Especially with someone famous. I never would’ve asked people to donate money. I never would’ve believed I could’ve done anything like this at all—’ her words jammed in her throat and a sob erupted where Flo guessed she might have said ‘without my husband.’ When she’d swept away some tears, Sue continued, ‘I’m glad I’m here. I’ve ridden over eighty miles on a bicycle. Little Sue Young from Bicester. Little Sue Green who never finished anything in her entire life. I’m not finished yet. And neither are you.’
Creakily, Flo stood up. ‘We’re going to do this, aren’t we?’
‘Yes we are,’ Sue said.
Little smiles and giggles rippled through the four of them as Kath pulled them all into a group hug that felt very much like a pre-game huddle as they each said again and again with growing conviction, ‘We’re going to do this, we’re going to do this, we’re going to do this.’
I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.
‘Alright Sue?’
Sue gave Dean-O a thumbs up. Talking wasn’t part of the plan. Pedalling was. Pedalling was all there was.
I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.
‘Nice to see you up here with the Tour boys,’ Dean-O grinned, cycling up the hill as if he were being pulled up it by some invisible string. ‘You’re motoring. Way to pull it out of the bag! Must’ve been holding back for your friends.’
No.
